First, if you haven’t already, create an account with Zapier here. Information on how to do this can be found here. If you already have a Zapier account, login here.

Step 1: Choosing a trigger and action

On your dashboard, select ‘Make a Zap!’

A new screen should appear, prompting you to choose a trigger app and action app. For the trigger choose allthings and for the action, choose Slack. You should be able to search for the app or scroll to find it.

Next, you’ll need to specify what the exact trigger and actions you want. In this example, the Zap will be ‘When a new Thing is added to a list I own or am shared on, a new message is sent to me on slack.’ The trigger is ‘New Thing’ and the action is ‘Send New Message’.

Other possible allthings triggers are:

New Activity

New Share Update

New Subscription Member

New Share Invitation

After you have chosen the trigger and action, select ‘Continue’.

Step 2: Connecting accounts

You will now have to connect to your allthings account if you have not done this already. If you have previously connected your allthings account to Zapier, simply choose which allthings account from the list to work with this Zap.

After selecting this, you’ll be asked to name this connected account. This is just to provide a name for the account for easy access in the future. After giving the account a name, select ‘Continue’.

This will cause a popup to appear, you will be presented with a request for permission. To proceed with creating the Zap, select ‘Accept’. After this the pop-up should disappear and you should be taken back to creating the Zap.

Next, you will have to do the same thing with your Slack account. After both accounts have been connected, and both have the ‘Account is working’ (which can be achieved by selecting ‘Test this Account)’, select ‘Continue’.

Step 3: Filter Triggers

With this form you will be able to define the exact circumstances needed for the trigger to occur and cause the action.

Without any custom filters, the action will only occur if a new Thing is created in any list. You can create a custom filter so that the action will only occur if the Thing was created by a specific person or if the Thing has a specific word in its Title.

In the example below, by adding a custom filter, I have customised the trigger so that when a new Thing is specifically created by Bob Plant, I will receive a message in Slack. Select ‘Continue’ for the next step.

Note: if you’re creating custom filters, they will only work if each of the three fields is filled in.

Step 4: Match up the new Thing to Slack

Here you will determine where and how the Slack message appears.

Now you have to select which Slack channel you’d like the message (notifying you of the new Thing) to appear in. This is a required step. You need to add the channel you’d like the new Thing to appear in, for example, #general. The Thing will appear in the General feed. Or, if you’d like the notification to be sent directly to you, add your username, for example @maria.

You will also have to determine what the message on Slack will say. Click on the ‘Insert Fields’ button to open a drop-down to choose from

the title of the Thing which has been added in allthings,

the permalink of that thing

the person who created the Thing.

You can choose to add only one of these options or all three. If you add more than one, you need to ensure they’re added to the box in the order you want to read them in Slack.

For example, if you had the Slack message report the permalink of the Thing, and user who created the Thing - you would read ‘www.examplepermalink.comBob Plant’.

It may be preferable to read, Thing title, User Name and then the Thing’s permalink. In essence, the message on Slack would appear: ‘Add new users, Bob Plant, www.examplepermalink.com’

It is also important that a space occurs in between the fields so the information is easier to read in Slack.

Those are the two required fields to fill in when creating this Zap. In this section you can also determine what icon the bot will use to report the change and what emoji appears with it.

Select ‘Continue’.

Step 5: Testing the Zap

This step is for testing out your Zap before you turn it on. Under the ‘Test this Zap’ heading, click ‘Test allthings trigger’.

If Zapier ‘couldn’t get any samples from allthings’ you’ll need to ‘create a brand new Thing in allthings’ while the popup is on the screen. After you have done this, select ‘Ok I did this’.

After this, the popup should recognise the changes you’ve made. Select ‘All done’.

You should now be presented with a sample test. Click ‘Test Zap with this sample’. You should receive a notification in Slack, on the channel you selected notifying you of the new thing which you created for a test. Click ‘Continue’ to save your Zap.

Step 6: Name Zap and turn it on.

In the input box, name your Zap and then select ‘Turn Zap on’. You will then be taken to your dashboard. Congratulations for creating this Zap!